New 147MW Wind Farm Opened in Roggeveld, Northern Cape

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The newly opened 147 MW Roggeveld wind farm will produce 620 GWh of energy a year – enough to supply 49 200 homes each year. The plant, which took 4 years to complete, contains 47 wind turbines and is owned by Italian run Cape Town based company Red Rocket. It is understood that Eskom will be the plant’s largest customer.

The wind turbines’ concrete towers, which were manufactured in Cape Town, stand at 100m tall – as high as a 30 story building. The imported blades are measured at 62.5 m, equal to 19 stories.

Roggeveld is known for its strong winds and cold weather. About 800 people were employed during the construction of the plant.

This project is part of the government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Program (REIPPPP) which seeks to bring more energy on the grid through independent power producers (IPPs). The project costed an approximate R4.4 billion.

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